Study, 1995
Do women who exercise have fewer PMS symptoms?
Yes. Women who exercise regularly experience better mood and fewer symptoms before and during their period compared to sedentary women. However, competitive athletes did not show this benefit.
What they did
Researchers tracked mood and physical symptoms in 143 women (35 competitive athletes, 33 high exercisers, 36 low exercisers, and 39 sedentary women) for five days during three different parts of the menstrual cycle: mid-cycle, premenstrual, and menstrual.
What they found
Mood and symptoms were worse during the premenstrual and menstrual phases compared to mid-cycle. High exercisers experienced the greatest positive mood and the least negative mood. Sedentary women experienced the least positive mood. The biggest differences between exercise groups appeared during the premenstrual and menstrual phases. Competitive athletes did not show these protective effects.
What it means for you
Regular, moderate exercise may help reduce mood changes and physical symptoms before and during the period. The study only tracked each cycle phase for five days, which is relatively short. It is unclear why competitive athletes were not protected, which suggests exercise type or intensity may matter.
143
total women tracked
5
days tracked in each cycle phase
35
competitive athletes
About the study
- Original title
- Symptom changes across the menstrual cycle in competitive sportswomen, exercisers and sedentary women
- Authors
- Choi PY, Salmon P
- Journal
- The British journal of clinical psychology
- Year
- 1995
- Study design
- Study
- Participants
- 143
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1111/j.2044-8260.1995.tb01479.x
Topics
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